This invention relates to aqueous dispersions of crystalline polymers, methods for making such dispersions and the use of such dispersions for coating substrates.
It is known to use certain organic polymers to provide coatings on a wide variety of substrates, including hair (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,196,190; 4,452,216; 4,834,968 and 4,983,383); fabrics (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,644,241; 3,833,393 and 4,780,499); and seeds and other organisms (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,180). It is also known to set a fabric by impregnating the fabric with a monomer component, and polymerizing the monomer while maintaining the fabric in a desired configuration (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,401,688).
One class of polymers which has been used for coating substrates comprises side-chain crystalline (“SCC”) polymers. However, the known coating compositions containing SCC polymers have the disadvantage that the polymer is dissolved in an organic solvent. Organic solvents are expensive, require environmental controls, and are particularly undesirable for application to human hair or to an organism.
Attempts have been made to prepare aqueous dispersions of SCC polymers (see British Polymer Journal 20, 521–524 (1988), U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,506,307 and 5,516,865, and Japanese Patent Document No. 6-192341), but the results have been poor and/or the techniques expensive.